I was really looking forward to my 4th Hive birthday last week, but things suddenly changed and it would have passed me by if it wasn't for 
Horrific things started happening in our beautiful province of Kwazulu Natal with destruction, looting and thuggery in the name of protests when our ex-president was jailed for contempt of court!
Our beautiful green valley with a dark smoke plume going up; a petrol station that was torched by so-called protestors!
We are a broken nation; angry, sad and shocked that people can act so barbaric with many beautiful shopping malls vandalized and stripped of everything; even shop fittings were ripped out!
My brother had some of their personal belongings in storage as they've moved into a smaller house on an estate while he's working in Khazakstan; they were planning on building a new home but last year's lockdown put a halt to that! The warehouse where some of his furniture and other goods were stored was also vandalized!
Thus far our neighbourhood have been spared, thanks to our local Community Police Forum (CPF) being proactive in conjunction with our local police force and security companies.
Many other suburbs have lax policing and were not as fortunate.
Civilians banded together to help by standing vigil day and night to guard our local shopping malls as well as strategic points where vandalizers could gain entry.
I am a proud mother to say my son is part of that action and I am so thankful to be part of a caring community; the menfolk and some women were patrolling and guarding while others supplied muffins, nourishment and hot drinks for our volunteers.
Sadly I could not do the latter as I buy fresh supplies weekly so only have enough eggs to feed my 2 bnb guests who ordered breakfast and dinners!
Quite a dilemma I must add, but their training has been postponed so they left this afternoon and the other 2 guests cannot work on the project they came down for as it is not safe so they've also departed!
They were unable to buy lunch yesterday, so I quickly rustled up some pancakes and filled some with tuna mayonnaise and the others sugar Cinnamon pancakes.
It took them around 4 hours to get petrol supplies as many of the petrol stations run out early in the day as they're getting limited supplies so long queues start forming very early morning; same with food supplies; we can only get the bare minimum with bread, fresh produce, meat and dairy products being virtually unobtainable.
We had a hearty homemade soup and bran scones for supper tonight, which everyone enjoyed as it is a real chilly evening here in Durban!
What has also become apparent with the vandalism is that in many instances, it is not the poor that are vandalizing and looting (stealing!); many are people who make off in luxury vehicles and dressed in designer clothing!
Awfully sad to think that the poor will now become even poorer as the repercussions of these despicable acts will be felt for years to come; our unemployment rate already is at an all-time high and this vandalism will certainly result in more job losses, while those connected to get all the tenders but do not always deliver the service they're paid to do; a sad sad and awful state of affairs!
Thankfully, here on Hive I have always been able to express myself and connect with kindred spirits, way more valuable and a great escape, as I've not only met foodies from all over the world and learned a ton from them; lessons from my vegan friends which will now stand me in good stead as I cannot get hold of dairy and meat products, and I think particularly here of 
I'd love to mention all of my special friends here on Hive, but there are way too many of you.
Two I have to mention though, and that is 
I quickly have to tell you something funny; can you believe that I did not realise I had reached Dolphin status until I looked at hivebuzz recently and saw this:)
Talk about the Silver hairs causing confusion, BUT...I have had a lot on my plate this year as those who know me, are aware of!
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